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Topic: Fantastic set of timelines... (Read 679 times)

Well, it is just one big picture, but as you scroll down , you see a set of timeslines, each one covering a longer span of time than the one above it. They start with the last 24 hours and end with a timeline that covers everything from the Big Bang til now. Very nice.

Oh, I like that. Thanks, PP. Thinking about the past and future is one of the things that humans don't share with too many other species, yet we're really not very good at it.

Perspectives like those are helpful. For instance, if we've only been able to talk to each other about concepts like last week and the week to come for 50,000 years, some of our screw-ups are a little easier to understand.

Or rationalize. Whatever.

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Live a good life... If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones. I am not afraid.--Marcus Aurelius

But seriously, what an amazing way to represent time. At the Hayden Planetarium here in NYC, there is a long spiral ramp that you walk down as you leave the planetarium show. Along the ramp is a representation of time, starting with the big bang. At the very very end of this long ramp, we see life on earth emerge, and a few tiny inches at the end represent human history.

Human beings always have and most likely always will have issues with the very big (the universe), the very small (atoms, molecules, viruses, bacteria, etc.), the very fast (speed of light, most chemical reactions, etc.) and the very slow (geological processes, evolution, cosmology, etc.) .

« Last Edit: September 17, 2013, 07:57:20 PM by mrbiscoop »

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When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realised that the Lord doesn't work that way so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me. -Emo Philips

Human beings always have and most likely always will have issues with the very big (the universe), the very small (atoms, molecules, viruses, bacteria, etc.), the very fast (speed of light, most chemical reactions, etc.) and the very slow (geological processes, evolution, cosmology, etc.) .

Exactly right. Above or below a certain scale, we have to use tricks. Timelines or other devices can help us understand the scale, at least visually. But our brains aren't tuned for billions of years or nano scales and it isn't easy. I, for one, certainly appreciate it when people create explanations/charts/clarification such as this timeline.

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Anyone can beat around the bush. But unless you have permission from the bush, you probably shouldn't.

Exactly right. Above or below a certain scale, we have to use tricks. Timelines or other devices can help us understand the scale, at least visually. But our brains aren't tuned for billions of years or nano scales and it isn't easy. I, for one, certainly appreciate it when people create explanations/charts/clarification such as this timeline.

Oh, I do like that, PP. It's dead on: we have to trick our minds into looking at things rationally. It certainly doesn't come naturally to us.

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Live a good life... If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones. I am not afraid.--Marcus Aurelius